ceiling, at the paintings, each and every one of which meant so
much to him. The work of Loth made him sad, but he adored that
of Palma Giovane and especially that of Mazzoni. Despite the
present cold the auditorium was an oasis to him. This, after all,
was the space in which his music came to life, each piece for the
first time!
Antonio was to include in today’s programme his two best sonate,
even though he had requested no official permission for this. They
could always be dropped from the programme should King
Frederik IV fail to appear.
Yesterday afternoon his father had attended the rehearsal
and had clearly been impressed. Of course, Giambattista had his
usual few critical remarks, and not without reason. Antonio agreed
that the amendments he suggested greatly improved the whole.
Both father and son had relinquished the idea of all twelve sonate
being ready in time. Antonio was not satisfied with the last
composition, and printer Bortoli had notified them that he had no
time to spare for them over the coming weeks. Giambattista had
made a superb copy of the first ten sonate and Antonio had
composed a dedication in his best handwriting that could later be
reproduced in the printed edition of his Opus II.
The silence was suddenly broken by the shrill tones of a
young girl shouting ‘Father!’ and a roguish little face peeped round
the doorpost. ‘Father Vivaldi, we’re ready for rehearsal,’ she called
again, more softly this time but with no less verve. As Antonio
looked round she vanished as suddenly as she had appeared, the
sound of her running footsteps growing fainter as she ascended
the staircase. Vivaldi, rubbing his hands together to get the blood
circulating, followed the echo at his own speed. The dress rehearsal
went without a hitch. His ladies never let him down, and certainly
not today, when the rumour was about that King Frederik IV might
come this afternoon. The choir had been quite happy to run
through the two extra sonate. Only the Maestra, the head of the Figlie
di Coro, had looked somewhat askance. She knew this would mean
28
15-42 Chapter 1.indd 28 22-11-2007 14:08:55